“SNOWY” SVENSON

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 50, 21 May 1927, Page 12

“SNOWY” SVENSON

ALL BLACK WING MERIT WINS ITS WAY A VERSATILE PERFORMER Snowy Svenson, All Black wing, who now contemplates dropping out of the game, has in his day been a versatile performer. In earlier years Wanganui idolised him as an elusive five-eighth, but it was as a wing three-quarter that he finally rose to fame. K. S. Svenson’s rise to richlydeserved international honours is the story of a clever and dependable

player’s triumph over the traditional theory that only the four centres of New Zealand were capable of producing players of international calibre. Many other men have been similarly placed. Even the great Seeling could not get recognition when

he was playing: in Wanganui for the I irates’ Club, when he came to Auckland he was soon recognised to be the greatest forward in the country. STANDARD OF RUGBY Of course, a player’s success in outside fields depends a lot on the quality of the Rugby played in his home town. A man who shines on a back-country field may not take the eye where standards are uniformly better. Nevertheless, Bunny Finlayson is as good at Wellington as he is at Whangarei, and Irvine made his burly presence felt as much at Twickenham as it was on his home paddock at Waipukurau. If further evidence is wanted, critics are commended to keep their eyes on a flaxen-haired giant, named Clarke, from Golden Bay, who is a young forward of promise.

In Svenson’s case, Wanganui Rugby at the time when he was shining was a good deal better than it has been since, and there was no justification for the manner in which the New Zealand selectors ignored his claims. A BRILLIANT FIVE-EIGHTH

In those days, 1921 and thereabouts, Svenson was a brilliant five-eighth, whose crisp running and clever swerving excited general admiration. He

a ame for the North Island in 1921, and the following year, after he had resigned his post in a Wanganui bank, he went to the West Coast of the South Island, and found a place in the South Island team that year. Not until 1923, when he went to Wellington, did Svenson show up as a definite candidate for international honours, and the following winter, after brilliant performances in the trial games, he was chosen to go to England with the great team that subsequently could not be conquered. On tour Svenson soon proved his merits. His sturdy physique and stamina made him a dependable threequarter, and he was fifth in order of scoring, with 54 points (all tries), while he played in 21 of the 30 games. ANOTHER COMING ON

In Wanganui, Svenson’s home town —he captained Wanganui Technical College in 1915—there is another of the family coming on, and a promising youngster he is.

Svenson is a fine swimmer and a good all-round athlete. In recent Ranfurly Shield matches he has been practically the mainstay of the Wellington backs. A knee injury is at present keeping him out of the game, and at 28 he is thinking of retiring. At any rate, he has signified that he will not be available for the South African tour next year.